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January 23, 2013

Designer Spotlight | Kelly Wearstler

Interior Designer & fellow native South CarolinianKelly Wearstler has been one of my very favorite style icons since I first came across her in 2007.

She has this uncanny knack for mixing textures, patterns, and colors in such a way that seems simultaneously strange (as in, lost-all-her-marbles, alarmingly strange), yet vaguely put together. It's a mesmerizing, inspiring sight to behold. And that's just her personal style...

Her interiors are insanely rich, dynamic wonderlands, that effortlessly combine an array of influences and eras. Take a look at this NY Times Article featuring a photo timeline of Wearstler and her interior design work, inspirations, and personal style. Take notes.

I first became aware of interior designer Kelly Wearstler back in 2007 on "Top Design", Bravo's tv series featuring interior design competitions, a la Project Runway. I was in college at the time, studying fashion design.

I think I fell in love with her immediately - not because of her supreme design skills (at first), but because of her other worldly persona. She was like this bizarre, etherial, rule-breaking anomaly with a slight figure draped in transparent clothing, topped off by a disproportionately large afro-esque crimped hairdo. All this, in addition to her somewhat girlish voice against a serious, concise tone and razor sharp wit.

It was mesmerizing. I was like a regular creep, pouncing on the television each time the cameras cut to her. It took me a while before I could finally stop girl crushing and focus on the design competition.

Wearstler is, without a doubt, one of my favorite style icons; Shocker that she was also named one of Vogue's Best Dressed women.

Yes, because in spite of her unusual combination of whimsical, often volumetric, what some might call, "loud", or just plain bizarre ensembles, she carries the whole thing off without an ounce of self doubt. On national television, no less. Chutzpah. Wow.